UK: The Boutique Workplace Company has signed a 15-year lease to open a workspace on 1 – 3 Frederick’s Place, a grade II listed building in Bank originally owned by Lord Frederick, Lord Mayor of London.
Following a detailed interior design project, the workplace will open in October 2024 and offers just under 18,000 square feet of office space across seven floors, plus a roof terrace overlooking St Olave’s Passage.
Contradicting the trend for management agreements in the flexible space market, with management agreements up from nine per cent of all deals in 2019 to 45 per cent of deals in 2023, The Boutique Workplace Company’s signing of the lease comes as The City of London Corporation has indicated 1.9 million square metres of additional, high quality office space will be needed in the area.
1-3 Frederick’s Place is part of the Frederick’s Place rejuvenation project by the Mercers’ Company; the final development within the estate, the 32,000 square foot Whittington Building, completed this summer, delivering a mixed-use scheme and first-class office space, The Mercers’ Hall and Archives and three food and beverage offerings. HEWN acted on behalf of The Boutique Workplace Company, and Knight Frank and Ingleby Trice represented the Mercers’ Company.
The 18th Century building was designed by prominent architect Robert Adam, and built after the Great Fire of London. It has hosted leading figures such as former prime minister Benjamin Disraeli and co-founder of Price Waterhouse Coopers, Edwin Waterhouse. Wooden floors and period features have been retained, including original fireplaces and plasterwork.
“We were proud to secure such a unique, characterful office space with its elegant, heritage exterior and incredible past. It’s a fantastic addition to our Boutique Collection, offering premium workspace in an increasingly sought-after area,” said Daniel Wheble, CEO of The Boutique Workplace Company. “We’re aware that signing a 15-year lease at a point when other providers are turning to management agreements is a bold step. For us, it demonstrates our confidence in Boutique’s offering. We agree with The City of London Corporation that more premium space will certainly be needed in the Square Mile.”
Private offices will accommodate between two and 100 people, some suites are self-contained, offering private roof terraces, phone booths, dedicated meeting rooms and executive suites – the largest self-contained unit is just under 3,000 square feet. The space is dog-friendly and its amenities include a gym, wellness room, outdoor spaces, a concierge, air conditioning, lift access, showers and changing rooms. As well as meeting rooms, there’s a podcast room, a range of breakout spaces and phone booths, plus a centralised cycle store in its vaults.
Simon Taylor, property director for The Mercers’ Company, which owns Frederick’s Place, said: “Our ambitions for the Frederick’s Place project were to make a positive contribution to our home estate by repurposing a number of vacant and dilapidated buildings. As with the adjacent and newly developed Whittington Building, we’re excited to see this mixed-use development come to fruition, and The Boutique Workplace Company’s high finish and attention to detail perfectly align with our ambitions for this historic space. In joining our estate, Boutique will certainly complement our other office and retail tenants.”
Will Kinnear, founder of HEWN, added: “If there was ever a perfect match, this is it. Having worked with The Boutique Workplace Company sourcing buildings for many years, their sweet spot is always heritage buildings – which their members really enjoy. We’re still seeing traditional lease agreements by flexible workspace operators, and this is another for The Boutique Workplace Company, demonstrating real confidence in the sector. The City of London are tirelessly working hard behind the scenes to diversify the offer in The City, and this is a superb addition in line with their ambitions on driving growth.”
The management agreement v lease issue is thew subject of a panel discussion featuring Will Kinnear at next month’s Urban Living Festival in London. Click here to find out more and buy tickets.
